WAVES, sea spray and high winds thrashed the city last night as flood warnings were put in place.

Unusually high water levels were seen at the Hoe, the Barbican and Sutton Harbour.

Flood gates were closed at Sutton Harbour and the Torpoint Ferry service was disrupted, with only one ferry operating for a short while.

A spokesperson for the ferry said: "It didn't flood as badly as we thought it would. But we stopped the second ferry running because it was so high up the ramp because of the tide and it wasn't safe for people to get on."

High tide was expected to raise the water off Plymouth by 2.6 meters with the surge adding another 37 centimetres.

The Environment Agency urged people to be particularly careful in exposed areas, where there was a risk of being swept away by waves or being hit by debris thrown up by waves.

A number of properties, including shops, flooded in Looe and the Liskeard-Looe railway line was closed.

Looe harbour master Jeff Penhaligon said flooding to properties close to the sea was the worst he had seen in the seven years he had been there.

Mr Penhaligon said: "We flood quite regularly with the tides but not normally as badly as this. It's the worse I've seen in seven years."

A forecaster for the Met Office said: "The highest tides of the year combined with heavy showers and high winds created the flood risks."

The forecaster added that flood risks were likely to "diminish" overnight as heavy rain eased off.